Apparatus for instruction for stringed musical instrument playing



April 18, 1933. L. PORTNOFF 1,904,928

APPARATUS FOR INSTRUCTION FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PLAYING Filed June 10, 1931 Patented Apr. 18, 1933 UNETED STATES PATENT orFicE LEO PORTNOFF, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK Application filed June 10, 1931.

This invention relates to an apparatus for instruction for stringed musical instrument playing.

WVhen instructing a student in playing 5 stringed instruments, such as the violin, there arises the problem of impressing him with certain values, substantially all of which must become part of his reflex reactions before he can e considered to have acquired 10 in any way, thetechnique of violin playing. This is especially true with the technique of bowing. As is well known, the position the bow assumes upon the strings, and its spacing relative to the bridge, is material insofar as tone effects produced are concerned. For instance, in one position of the bow on the strings, a piano effect is produced; at another position, a louder effect, or mezzoiorte, and, finally, a forte, arises. At each one of these positions, a different pressure of the bow against the strings is necessary for producing the desired effect. Then, also, as can easily be realized from the fact that the bow, ordinarily used, is of considerable length and, therefore, the effective force applied by it in relation to the pressure applied at its frog, will vary as the distance from the frog to the point of contact varies, the student must acquire the 30 ability to apply a varying pressure at the frog of the bow and, at the same time, produce, at the strings, a substantially constant bowing pressure.

For these purposes, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of instruction, and apparatus for use therein, whereby a student will be guided in his bowing exercises by the positive retention of the bow in a particularly desired relation to the strings; by re )eated movements of the bow at a specified point or points, the student is enabled to make such physical movements and the particular location of the bow dun ing such movements a part of his reflex actions,

Serial No. 543,367.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means to warn the student, throughout his bowing exercises, as to the constancy of the pressure applied by his bow to the strings, so that he may be enabled to practise applying varying pressures to the bow while securing substantially constant pres sure at the strings.

It is an object of the invention to provide means whereby the bow may be guided in particular distinct relations to the strings to produce distinct tonal effects from the strings, with which may be used means for indicating the pressure exerted by the bow upon the strings, the supporting means and the indicating means being related so that the indicating means will read substantially the same for dillerent pressures at different positions 01": the bow, the relation being such that the pressures at the different positions will be the requisite ones for the desired tone qualities at such positions.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for the purposes set forth, which means may be readily separated from, or assembled with, any instrument of the type set forth, for the purpose of instruction upon any particularly desired instrument.

Other objects of this invention will be hereinafter set forth, or will be apparent from the description and the drawing, in which is illustrated a number of embodiments of apparatus for carrying out the invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to the particular constructions and arrangements of parts, nor to the particular applications such constructions, herein shown and described, nor to the specific methods of operation, nor to the various details thereof, as the same may be modified in various particulars or be ap plied in many varied relations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, practical embodiments herein il lustrated and described attempting merely to show some of the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied.

For the attainment of these objects and of such other objects as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention in the drawing wherein the same reference characters refer to the same parts throughout, and wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a violin upon which has been mounted means embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of.

the means shown in Figure l and illustrating the manner of assembly thereof upon the instrument, parts being shown in elevation;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a partial section, similar to Figure 2, on reduced scale, of a modified form of indicating means.

Upon the violin 10, which is shown in the drawing, and particularly upon the finger board 12 and the bridge 14, is mounted a means 16 for carrying out certain features of this invention. In this particular embodiment, the means is such that the strings 18 will not be affected by a bow when the bow is manipulated with relation thereto. However, it is to be understood that it is possible, by changes within the scope of this invention, to arrange such means so that it will be active for its purpose, yet permitting coaction of the bow and the strings, if desired.

Preferably, the means consists of a frame 20, which may be stamped from sheet metal, or otherwise formed so as to provide an end clamp 22, intended to be slipped over, and to grasp the top of. the bridge 1d. Ex-

tending toward the finger board from the clamp 22 and forming part of the frame is a base 24, from which extends a wall 26 having a plurality of ears 28. A prong 30 may be struck down from the base 24, and is intended to be engaged under the finger board to retain the means located between the finger board and the bridge during use.

Secured upon, and bent between, the ears 28 is a face plate 32, upon which may be marked, or otherwise indicated, graduations 34, to cooperate with an indicating finger 36. This finger may be the bent end of one arm 38 of a bell crank 40, which is here shown as pivoted upon wall 26 at 42. The other arm 44 of the bell crank has formed therein a slot 46, in which is received slidably a pin 48, located at the end of a pivoted arm 50. A spring 52, anchored to the arm between the pin and the pivot post 54:, and also to the base 24., normally retains the arm in contact with a stop pin 56, thus limiting downward movement of finger 36 along the face plate 32. Extending beyond the pivot post Sat and forming a part of arm is an arcuate section 58 having a wall 60, an opening 62 in which receives the flattened end 6% of a shaft 66. This shaft is pivotally mounted upon wall 68 of end clamp 22 at the end of the shaft removed from section 58.

On this shaft are received a number of concaved rollers 70, each one of which preferably is independently rotatable upon the shaft. As can be seen from Figure 3, the extent of base 24 is sufficiently limited to permit positioning the means between the two middle strings. Now, by placing the bow upon any one of the rollers 70, and moving the bow along such rollers, pressure will be brought to bear upon the shaft and upon the interconnected elements, finally resulting in movement of the indicating finger 36 along face plate 32.

If the student will watch this indicating finger, and control the pressure of his hand upon the frog of the bow during movement of the latter, it will be possible for him, by proper regulation, to secure substantially uniform pressure upon the particular roller he has selected, if he will manipulate his bow to retain the finger at a constant position along the scale. In spite of the varying leverage, as the bow is moved along this roller which represents the strings over which the bow normally would move, the student can, without other intervening elements, instruct himself as to the pressure upon the bow necessary to secure constant pressure upon the roller. By constant repetition of this exercise, he can endue himself with the habit of following exactly this variation in pressure necessary for the production of constant pressure on the strings.

As will be noted, the ley'erage along the shaft from pivot 72 on the end clamp varies with tl particular roller selected. If the roller adjacent the end clamp is engaged, a greater pressure will be necessary for producing the same reac ing of the indicating finger than in the case the roller adjacent the flattened end Glis engaged. These rollers, in the order related, may be arranged to be identical, in a. desired constructibn, with the positions known to the artistas the forte, mezzo-forte and piano positions of the bow. It is well known. that. in the piano position, it is highly desirable that but light pressure be exerted by the bow, and that this pressure be but gradually increased as the tone values increase to the forte. By proper construction of the linkand proportioning of the rollers, it is possible to approximate closely this relation, so that, for the same reading of the indieating finger at the positions of different rollers 70, it becomes possible to instruct a student in, and to impress upon him, the different pressures of the bow necessary for securing these desired tone values. One of the great factors in violin playing is to assure that the student guide his bow in substantially a straight line path across the strings, that is, without twisting his bow into i ious angles across the body of the instrnaent, but maintaining the bow substa lly at right angles transversely of the strings. For this reason, roller 74 may be provided as a supplement to the other means, and is retained upon means 16 by a spring '70, secured by a link 78 to end clamp 22. Another spring 80 has an end thereof secured to an axle 82 of the roller, and has an end thereof irovided to make coupling to an ea; 84 on wall 26. These springs 76 and 80 permit the ready association and separation of the roller from the means whenever desired. The roller is formed with a deep roove 8G in which the bow is intended to ,e received, the groove 86 guiding the bow positively in its movements across the strings and retaining the bow firmly against the stings, or the roller 70, as the case may be. The tension of springs 76 and 80 may be varied so that, by lifting the bow against the roller 74, the student will be able to exercise his arms to attain a desired lightness in bowing. The roller itself may be of any material, such as crepe rubber or even a harder substance, not subjected to, or producing, extreme wear in its functioning. Crepe rubber is desirable since it applies a certain braking effect upon the bow, retardstudent in his endeavor quickly to stroke. In Figure 4, a modified form of pressure indicating means shown. In this case, the shaft 88, pivotec to the end clamp, carries the rollers 90 and has an end 92 rotatably mounted in the end 9+2 of an arm 96. A leaf spring 98 engages end 94: and is supported upon the base 100. The remainder of the apparatus is substantially similar to that of Figure 2 for the omission of spring the place of which is taken by spring 98. Many other changes could be effected in the particular HPZJZLXLIUJS designed, and in th methods of operation set forth, and in 0 he specific details thereof, without substanially departing from the invention hereof which is intended to defined in the accompanying claims, the specific description herein merely illustrating operative embodime ts for carrying out the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Means for use in carrying out instruction in the manipulation of a stringed musical instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing, which includes: a support for carrying the bow for association with the instrument during bowing-simulating movements, and means associated with the support for indicating the pressure applied by the bow against the support during such movements of the bow.

2. Means for use in carrying out instruction in the manipulation of a stringed musical instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing, which includes: a sup port for carrying the bow during bowingsimulating movements and adapted to be mounted upon the instrument, said support being provided with means for indicating the correct position for the bow in attaining certain predetermined tonal effects from the instrument.

3. Means for use in carrying out instruction in the manipulation of a stringed musical instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing, which includes: a support for the bow during bowing-simulating movc ments and adapted to be mounted upon the instrument, said support being provided with means for indicating the correct position for the bow in attaining certain predetermined tonal eifects from the instrument, and means associated with the support for indicating the pressure applied by the bow against the support during such movements of the bow.

4. Means for use in carrying out instruction in the manipulation of a stringed mush cal instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing, which includes: a support for carrying the bow during bowing-simulating movements and adapted to be mounted upon the instrument, and means associated With the support for indicating the pressure applied by the bow against the support during such movements of the bow, the indicating means being visible to the user of the bow at all times.

5. Means for use in carrying out instruction in the manipulation of a stringed musical instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing, which includes: a support for carrying the bow during bowing-simulat ing movements, and positioned on the instrument substantially at the location at which the bow no 'mally attacks the strings, and means associated with the support for indicating the pressure applied by the bow against the support during such movements of the bow.

6. Means for use in carrying out instruction in the manipulation of a stringed mus"- cal instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing, which includes: a support for carrying the bow during bowing-simulating movements, and positioned on the in strument substantially at the location at which the bow normally attacks the strings, and means associated with the support for indicating the pressure applied by the bow against the support during such movements of the bow, the indicating means being visible to the user of the bow at all times.

7. Means for use in carrying out instruction in the manipulation of a stringed musical instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing, which includes: a support for carrying the bow during bowing-simulating movements, and positioned on the instrument substantially at the location at which the bow normally attacks the strings, said support being provided with means for indicating the correct position for the bow in attaining certain redetermined tonal effects from the instrument, and means asso' ciated with the support for indicating the pressure applied by the bow against the su port during such movements of the bow, the indicating means being visible to the user of the bow at all times.

8. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means for cooperation there *ith and with the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining the ability to reproduce proper bowing pressures.

9. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means for cooperation therewith and with the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining the ability to reproduce proper bowing pressures at various positions of the bow.

10. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, removable means for cooperation therewith and with the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining the ability to reproduce proper bowing pressures.

11. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means mounted upon the finger board of, and cooperating with the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining the ability to reproduce proper bowing pressures.

12. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means for cooperation with the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining proper bowing positions in a plurality of relations along the strings.

18. In combination with a violin or sim ilar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means removably mounted upon the finger board of, and cooperating with the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining the ability to reproduce proper bowing pressure at various positions of the bow, said means including a support extending immediately in relation to those portions of the strings customarily acted upon by the bow.

14. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means removably mounted upon the finger board of, and cooperating with the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining the ability to reproduce proper bowing pressure at various positions of the bow, said means including a pivoted support extending immediately in relation to those portions of the strings customarily acted upon by the bow.

15. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means removably mounted upon the finger board of, and cooperating with the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining the ability to reproduce proper bowing pressure at various positions oi": the bow, said means including a pivoted support extending immediately in relation to those portions of the strings customarily acted upon by the bow and adapted to carry the bow during such exercises, and means actuated by the pivoted support for indicating the pressure applied to the latter by the bow.

16. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means removably mounted upon the finger board of, and cooperating \VILll the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining proper bowing pressures at various positions of the bow, said means including pivoted support extending immediately in relation to those portions of the strings customarily acted upon by the bow and adapted to carry the bow during such exercises, and means actuated by the pivoted support for indicating the pressure applied to the latter by the bow, said indicating means being visible to the manipulator of the bow.

17. In combination with a Violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means removably mounted upon the finger board 01", and cooperating with the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining proper bowing pressures at various positions of tile bow, said means including a pivoted support extending immediately in relation to those portions of the strings customarily acted upon by the bow and adapted to carry the bow during such exercises, and means actuated by the pivoted support for indicating the pressure applied to the latter by the bow,

said indicating means being at all times visible to the manipulator oi the bow.

18. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means removably mounted upon the finger board of, and cooperating with the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining proper bowing pressures at various positions of the bow, said means including a pivoted support X- tending immediately in relation to those portions of the strings customarily acted upon by the bow and adapted to carry the bow during such exercises, and a spring resisting movement of the support.

19. In combination with a violin or similar stringed instrument, tones from which are produced by bowing the strings, means removably mounted upon the finger board of, and cooperating with the violin and the bow during bowing exercises to guide the student in attaining proper bowing pressures at various positions of the bow, said means including a pivoted support extending immediately in relation to those portions of the strings customarily acted upon by the bow and adapted to carry the bow dur ing such exercises, a spring resisting move ment of the support, and means actuated by the pivoted support for indicating the pressure applied to the latter by the bow.

20. A unitary apparatus for assembly upon a violin or similar stringed instrument comprising means for supporting the bow, located by assembly immediately over the portions of the strings customarily bowed, said means having elements associated therewith for measuring the pressure of bow application.

21. A unitary apparatus for assembly upon the bridge of a violin or similar stringed instrument comprising means "for supporting the bow, located by assembly immediately over the portions of the strings customarily bowed, said means having elements associated therewith for measuring the pressure of bow application.

22. A unitary apparatus for assembly 011 a. violin or similar stringed. instrument in the region of those portions of the strings between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard which customarily are attacked when the strings are bowed, comprising means for supporting the bow, located by assembly immediately over those portions of the strings customarily bowed, said means having elements associated therewith for measuring the pressure of how application.

23. A unitary apparatus for assembly upon a violin or similar stringed instrument com prising means for supporting the bow, located by assembly immediately over the portions of the strings customarily bowed, said means having elements associated therewith for measuring the pressure of bow application and visibly indicating the pressure applied simultaneously with the bow application.

24. A unitary apparatus for assembly on a violin or similar stringed instrument in the region of those portions of the strings between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard which customarily are attacked when the strings are bowed, comprising means for supporting the bow, located by assembly immediately over those portions of the st *ings customarily bowed, said means having elements associated therewith for measuring the pressure of bow application and visibly indicating the pressure applied simultaneously with the bow application.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

LEO PORTNOFF. 

